Mt. Roberts tram, juneau, alaska

[yags]

We will be going on the Grand to Alaska in June of 2018. We have an excursion planned for Juneau but would also like to do the Mt. Roberts Tram. Can anyone give me any info on the tram? How close to the Ship? Can you just go there on your own? What is the cost? If you could fill me in I would be very appreciative.

[katricia]

The tram is right across the street. Within walking distance. But I'm not sure what the hours are. We went up when it was dark, kinda neat because the ship was all lit up. But the outdoor part was already closed.

 

 

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[KaRluvs2cruise]

I was on the Ruby Princess in August. The ship docked at the Franklin Street dock. It's about a mile south of the Mt Roberts Tram. It's within walking distance. I don't remember their hours but they were running in to the evening. The price for an Adult ticket was $34, good for All Day. You can visit their website for more information: mountrobertstramway.com

[Westskip]

We went up Mt Roberts in 2015 and visited the restaurant up there for a meal. View is magnificent however after nearly two months of touring USA and Canada this was absolutely the worst meal we had. Was even worse than the last meal on an Amtrak journey.

[satxdiver]

There are 4 piers for cruise ships in Juneau. The Mt Roberts Tram is located by the cruise terminal pier. We were on the Ruby a few months ago and the ship used the Franklin Street dock which was about a mile from the tram. You can buy tickets to use the tram at the tram ticket office. There is no need to buy an excursion from the ship. We did the tram about 10 years ago. The view from the facility at the top of the tram is fantastic. You can then continue hiking up the mountain as the tram stops well below the peak. I would stay away from the restaurant since what you are buying is the location and certainly not the food.

[tigerbeth]

Do not go up there if it's rainy , cloudy etc .....

We did & on the way up the guy in the tram said don't worry it will clear ! It didn't !! shrouded in mist very disappointing ! Cost a lot for not much !

I'm sure it's great on the right day .

[JF - retired RRT]

This thread caught my interest. We're going to Alaska in 2018. I just went to the Princess excursions for our cruise and this excursion through the ship is the same price as DIY. Of course, the benefit of DIY is you can go on the tram when you want, rather than following a "guide" to the tram at a predetermined time.

And as tigerbeth stated, if it's rainy or cloudy, doing DIY you can just say "never mind".

[yags]

This thread caught my interest. We're going to Alaska in 2018. I just went to the Princess excursions for our cruise and this excursion through the ship is the same price as DIY. Of course, the benefit of DIY is you can go on the tram when you want, rather than following a "guide" to the tram at a predetermined time.

And as tigerbeth stated, if it's rainy or cloudy, doing DIY you can just say "never mind".

I noticed the price is the same escorted or DIY. We will be coming off of the Summer Dog Sled excursion so we will be doing the DIY.

[Jetstreamer]

We were on the Coral in May and it docked pretty close to the tram, maybe 2-3 mins walk. Got a great view if the ship going up and down. Definitely buy when you are there and not on the ship, that way you can check out the conditions before comitting.

 

Your ticket is valid for as many trips as you like on the day so might be good to go in the morning and evening for different light. Queues to come down in the early evening were very long so head down at least an hour before all aboard!

 

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[froggy9143]

If you purchase your tram ticket through Princess and run out of time to use it or the weather is bad it is fully refundable, I ran out of time and just took my unused ticket to the excursion desk and my account was credited. So no loss to book that one in advanced through Princess. It is also the only excursion that states it is refundable.

[srpilo]

I was on the Ruby Princess in August. The ship docked at the Franklin Street dock. It's about a mile south of the Mt Roberts Tram. It's within walking distance. I don't remember their hours but they were running in to the evening. The price for an Adult ticket was $34, good for All Day. You can visit their website for more information: mountrobertstramway.com

+1

Was also there in August on the Grand, and the hours were 8:00am til 9:00pm

 

Srpilo

[IECalCruiser]

We stopped in Juneau on three different cruises in August and September. On the first two cruises it was rainy and/or cloudy all day but the third time was the charm! There were some light clouds partially up but the top of Mt. Roberts was in bright sun and we could still see the cruise ships below. We did a short hike with some very nice views. An added benefit was a free performance by a family of performers. We did have lunch on board before riding the tram so can't comment on the food.

 

On one of the rainy days we walked to the Alaskan Brewing Company store in town and took their shuttle to the brewery. After a short tour and history of the company, we could taste as much beer as we wanted. It was a nice change of pace.

 

 

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[RLK33853]

If you like to hike, you can hike up to the restaurant. It is a pretty good trail for the most part but you have to be in fairly good shape. Once you are at the top, you can visit the restaurant and as long as you spend $20 you get a free tram ride down. Just make sure the restaurant gives you your receipt to show you qualify. At least this was the deal last year.

[RickSue]

Just remember that it's almost always drizzly/rainy in the Southeast Panhandle and that includes Juneau. That said, if you get a sunny day it's Heaven. Take a rain jacket wherever you go.

[railman]

I noticed the price is the same escorted or DIY. We will be coming off of the Summer Dog Sled excursion so we will be doing the DIY.

 

Did the Dog Sled excursion, it was great. When we returned from the dogs we simply walked up to the tram, bought tickets and boarded.

[geocruiser]

http://mountrobertstramway.com/

[geocruiser]

We did the tram when in Alaska. We road it up in the Am and had nice weather. My DH went back to the ship in the afternoon. I decided to take the tram again. I got on and about half way up it started to pour and was windy. The car was going back and forth. The tram operator said that they might close it down until the weather gets better. I said to her that I would stay on if they allow her to go back down. We made it down. Not a smooth ride. The point is don't go up if the weather is not good too close to the ship sailing. You might not get back down without walking. It all most happened to me. I never thought of them closing it down.

[yags]

We did the tram when in Alaska. We road it up in the Am and had nice weather. My DH went back to the ship in the afternoon. I decided to take the tram again. I got on and about half way up it started to pour and was windy. The car was going back and forth. The tram operator said that they might close it down until the weather gets better. I said to her that I would stay on if they allow her to go back down. We made it down. Not a smooth ride. The point is don't go up if the weather is not good too close to the ship sailing. You might not get back down without walking. It all most happened to me. I never thought of them closing it down.

Good Point. Thanks for the advice. Although kinda sounded like fun being caught for a few minutes

[cruznliz]

We took it in August in the late afternoon and got up to the top without a problem. When we got off we noticed there was a LONG line to get back down. We quickly walked around the area and then got in line. I think we waited 40 minutes to get a tram back down. It was kind of a nerve wracking experience. :eek:

[geocruiser]

Good Point. Thanks for the advice. Although kinda sounded like fun being caught for a few minutes

It was fun in a crazy sort of way. I had taken the ride up about 1.5 hours before final boarding time. So, I knew that I had time for a normal ride. But, this was not normal. The only good thing is that I would have had a nice view of my ship sailing away!

[tanyaewa]

Juneau is very pedestrian friendly and you can walk everywhere. Tramway is a great thing to do

[rgmacm]

We were there in Aug - on the Star Princess. Princess' 'regular' dock is Franklin (though if there's more than 1 PCL ship in port, only one of them will be at Franklin ;) ... check claalaska for accurate info)

Franklin dock isn't 'next door' to the tram by any means...but it's not a far walk if you're in good shape/able to walk. (no mobility challenges)

The tickets purchased there at the Tram...OR on the ship are the same price. We actually got ours on the ship because we had OBC that we didn't know how else to use....we did all ports DIY and aren't drinkers or gamblers...How else ya gonna spend it? The tickets are fully refundable if you don't use them - i.e. the day is rainy/misty/foggy.

Purchasing from the ship, we did not have to go with a group...we got our tickets and went when we wanted to. Maybe there are groups that go together, I can't speak to that...just saying you don't HAVE to....

 

At The Top: There are trails...as well as gift shop, restaurant and Eagle Center. The tram begins running at 8 I believe...but the Eagle center didn't open until 10 am.

Our original plan was to go up the tram first thing and get pics in the morning light...then return that evening for different lighting.

The reality of it was that we went up that morning and didn't have time or energy to return....so didn't go into the Eagle Center at all. (something for a return trip to Alaska!!)

 

Note...lines get long later in the day...both to go UP and more importantly if you're on a tight schedule to get back on the ship...to come down. Going at 8am as we did, we walked right on...but heard ppl that evening on the ship who waited 1+ hrs for a tram - especially for the trip back down.... :o

 

I actually have written a full review of our cruise - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2542116;

Edited November 7, 2017 by rgmacm